The April 19 performance of the West Virginia University Wind Symphony will be bittersweet for Director of Bands John Hendricks. It will be his last concert at the conductor’s podium before he takes up new administrative responsibilities for the WVU College of Creative Arts.

“It will be terrific to share the stage one final time with fellow colleagues and wonderful student musicians,” said Hendricks. “The final piece of the concert is one of my personal favorites and will be a terrific way to conclude this portion of my professional career.”

The final piece will be David Maslanka’s 1994 “Symphony No. 4,” regarded by many as a masterpiece for band. Not only is it scored for the full forces of the modern wind band, but it also includes piano, harp, and organ. Maslanka describes the piece as one that speaks “to the fundamental human issues of transformation and re-birth in this chaotic time.” Audience members will definitely recognize one of hymns used throughout the piece – “Old Hundred” (Doxology).

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre of the WVU Creative Arts Center. For tickets and information, contact the WVU Box Office at 304-293-SHOW. As with many School of Music performances, the concert is free to any WVU student who presents an ID to any usher.

Hendricks will be moving to the position of Associate Dean for the College of Creative Arts starting this summer. He has been Director of Bands and conductor of the Wind Symphony since the fall of 2005. Prior to this he served as the Assistant Director of Bands for twelve years, which included serving as Director of the Mountaineer Marching Band for seven years.

“We are grateful to Professor Hendricks for his wonderful leadership of WVU bands for many years,” said Dean Paul Kreider of the College of Creative ARts. “We are very much looking forward to his full-time leadership in the College of Creative Arts for years to come. I am excited to have Professor Hendricks as a partner in the dean’s office.”

Other pieces featured on the program include:

  • “Landing Amongst the Stars,” which was composed specifically for this concert. Composer Evan Boegehold is a 2011 graduate of the WVU School of Music where he earned his Bachelors degrees in Music Composition and Trumpet Performance. He received his Masters degrees from Central Michigan University in Music Composition and Conducting.
  • “Jubilee” (from “Symphonic Sketches”) by George Whitefield Chadwick, transcription by by Howard Bowlin. The opening movement of a four-movement suite serves well as a concert overture. The piece is based on a poem and has a definite “Americana” flare that is described as “a tonal picture of a carnival.”
  • “Farandole” (from “L’Arlesienne Suite”) by Georges Bizet, arranged by Gerardo Iasilli. This popular work presents two themes from southern France: a march in a minor key and a lively dance in a major key. Both themes are presented individually and then simultaneously at the end.
  • “Festal Scenes” by Yasuhide Ito. Composed by one of Japan’s premier composers for wind band, this piece uses four Japanese folk songs. Ito was inspired to compose this work after receiving a letter from a wandering philosophical friend in Shanghai.
  • “Solid Men to the Front” by John Philip Sousa, edited Frank Byrne. Sousa wrote this march during the eighteen months the United States was involved in World War I. The title is a stirring appeal for men to enlist. This march was one of the favorites of Sousa’s fellow bandsmen.

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CONTACT: David Welsh, WVU College of Creative Arts
304-293-3397; David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu

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